Jump to content

Defendant trades murder plea for buckets of KFC, Popeyes


PuroAztlan

Recommended Posts

Breaking news: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/07/food.g...a.ap/index.html

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A New York man who pleaded guilty to murder in Oregon in exchange for buckets of fried chicken will get calzones and pizza to go with his life sentence.

Tremayne Durham, 33, of New York City, admitted last month that he fatally shot Adam Calbreath, 39, of Gresham, in June 2006. Durham wanted to sell ice cream and ordered an $18,000 truck from an Oregon company. He later changed his mind, but the company wouldn't provide a refund. The would-be ice cream man came to Oregon and killed Calbreath, a former employee of the company, while looking for its owner, authorities said.

Durham agreed to plead guilty to murder -- but only if he could get a break from jail food. The judge agreed and granted Durham a feast of KFC chicken, Popeye's chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, carrot cake and ice cream . After Wednesday's sentencing, Durham was to get the rest of the deal -- calzones, lasagna, pizza and ice cream, his defense attorney confirmed. They will pay the tab.

Durham also got married Wednesday in a civil ceremony at the Portland courthouse. The wedding to Vanessa Davis, 48, also of New York City, was not part of the plea deal that will give Durham a chance for parole after 30 years.

Deputy District Attorney Josh Lamborn said Multnomah County Judge Eric Bergstrom made the right call in allowing the unusual plea agreement because it saved the expense of a trial and possible appeals.

What do you think RedScare, good plea bargain? :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, I think it would be considered an illegal inducement to plea guilty. But, since his attorney is in on the deal, there probably will be no complaint. Pleas of guilty must be voluntary and uncoerced. I'm guessing that there was little doubt that the defendant would be convicted at trial, and the deal was to get him to plea now rather than later, as opposed to plea guilty rather than not guilty. As amusing as the story is, there are serious question as to whether this would be considered a "voluntary" plea, the kind of stuff that drunk lawyers at legal seminars would stay up hours debating. How sad is that? :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So this could be considered borderline bribery?

I think it could be. It sounds incredibly silly that someone might give up his rights so easily, but if you consider the limited intellect of some of the people we deal with in the criminal justice system, it is not that outlandish. I suspect (or hope) that the judge made sure that the defendant was only agreeing to the time of the plea in return for food, not whether to give up his right to a trial. In other words, the defendant makes it clear that he is in fact guilty, and says if y'all will give me some real food, I'll plea right now, rather than waste the court's time with a trial. If the judge made sure that was the case, I see no real problem with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All I know is, Popeye's should put him in a commercial.

I was thinking Church's, so he could tell us all "what good is". Just picture him standing in front of a green screen jail-cell, complete with hokey striped jumpsuit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...